The Reflection Thread, 2009 version (1 Viewer)

[Danchrism]

How was your 2009?


In the interest of time, I'll be brief - this was a wildly inconsistent year for me. I got to enjoy highs and mull over lows without much coast time in between. I could never just ride a high for an extended time, but I never got to wallow in my lows either.

Did some traveling, upheld a vow I kept to myself, weight is about the same , and suddenly there are no women I'm serious about on the horizon. I've done okay financially and held the same job all year. Grew my friendships some more and gained more people than I lost.

All-in-all, I'd give it a solid 6.5 - room to improve, but not all bad.



Re-read the 2008 version here: http://saintsreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98557

 

[Galbreath34]

Started the year separated and laid off, thanks to a good last few months of 2008, got work in October at half the pay an hour away, but the Saints have been great this fall. So in balance, some good, some bad, I'm glad to be moving on to a new decade.

 

[oui_heart_saints]

2009 was full of highs and lows for me. It's been a strange year. While the good should outweigh the bad, it doesn't feel like that. Especially the last two months, which have sucked.

Bad moments:

-My grandmother passed earlier this year.
-My mother was diagnosed with cancer in October - thankfully after a round of chemo, her cancer has only a 20% chance of recurring.
-Due to my parents moving to the Nashville area after Katrina (house was destroyed), we have split holidays. The come to NOLA one year, the NOLA crew travels up there the year after. This year, it was our turn to go up there. We had car trouble on Christmas Eve - so we couldn't make the drive up, so I had to miss Christmas with my family.
-Because of work schedules, my husband and I had to miss out on seeing certain people on a regular basis.
-A dear friend of ours has Spina Biffida. Long story short, his mother is a horrible alcoholic.
Because of that, 3 years ago, he moved in with us.
Sadly, he's had to move out earlier this month and into a hospice because his disease has progressed to that point.
-I am a part-time Home-Health Aid. One of my favorite people to work for moved out of state.

Good moments:

-Getting the pets I've gotten this year. I love my little critters.
-Moving back to the Lower 9th and the wonderful neighbors I have gained as a result.
-Getting to travel to New Mexico
-The new friends I have met this year as well as reconnecting with people from the past (Thanks FaceBook!)
-The Saints, of course.
-My husband and I celebrating 8 years of marriage
-Realizing my dream of getting a book published - Order it here if interested: Louisiana Ghosts

 

[Danchrism]

bumpity

 

[saintgirly]

Outside of being with my man for going on 13 years, finding out I will be a grandma in February to a baby boy( all I had was girls and I'm tired of the drama...I will see to it that he grows up a Saints fan) and the season the Saints are having ,the rest of the year was crap in my book. I wish everyone on SR.com a much better 2010.

 

[DadsDream]

Heart attack.
Angioplasty.
Stents.
Quit smoking.
First grand daughter born.
Contracted to buy a new house.

 

[saintsfanflorida]

Made way less money. Wrecked two cars. Horrible year with the ladies. Hair loss accelerated. Had to quit smoking reefer. I'm just going to stop now. 2009 was a big stinky terd.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

the constant amazement that is a toddler
the saints the saints the saints
still loving my job
my country showed me that it was possible (but not probable) that we can grow out of our political backwardness

 

[GhostSaint]

Probably both my highest and lowest and it all happened since the last week in September.

Had a baby boy (my first), diagnosed with skin cancer, had said skin cancer removed

 

[gaminerie]

i had a fantastic 2009. treated me right, and then some.

Cruisin' into 2010 and beyond.

 

[Norwajun]

My career and finances hit rock bottom in 2009. I lost my job and nearly lost everything else because I refused to compromise on my ethics. Mid-year I had a new job and a new outlook. As the new year dawns I am definitely moving in the right direction

 

[authentic]

My career and finances hit rock bottom in 2009. I lost my job and nearly lost everything else because I refused to compromise on my ethics. Mid-year I had a new job and a new outlook. As the new year dawns I am definitely moving in the right direction

This is me exactly, except the job came much later in the year. It was rough but it was definitely a learning experience. If you can get through yourself AND your sig. other being unemployed with no pay for nearly the entire year of 2009, spending 24 hours a day together, you can do anything.

 

[parlorcitysaint]

Well, lemme see.

Lost job of last decade, and hoped to return to same. Really wanted to go back, as 1) I think I was pretty good at it, 2) Was getting paid fairly well considering the area ($20+/hr and that's w/o a degree), and 3) I really enjoyed some of the friendships I had cultivated over the years. Unemployment. $374/wk.

Had massive heart attack. Flatlined twice on the way to the hospital. Have had two surgeries to put stents in my heart. Am on so many meds now I'm worried about my liver. (Ask Dadsdream, I'm sure he can relate.) Not able to work, so forget unemployment. Disability. $170/wk.

Unemployment now says that they overpaid me by $300, because of the heart attack. Closed claim.

Former employer, the one to which I was hoping to return announced they were closing their doors. When I got there in '99, there were over 500 people there. Now they're all gone. Some to other jobs, certainly not better paying ones. Most have gone on to unemployment. This area is stagnant. Sure, unemployment is down, but the only jobs that have been created in this area (yours too, I'm sure) are part time minimum wage gigs.

Cashed in 401k. Paid off everything I owed to anyone. Including the chateau, so at least that's an expense off our backs. Unfortunately, the 401k counts as income for '09. Hopefully, I had them deduct enough to cover the taxes.

After better than 30 years of leaving the house to go and earn a living, now I'm stuck at home gathering animosity towards those I love the most. Cabin fever will do that I'm told. The realization of this has kept me from killing them so far, anyway.

My Saints were unstoppable for the first 14 weeks of the season, dominating every "superior" team along the way. They were only "superior" in the media hacks' minds. Yeah, they've lost two games in two weeks, but even if they drop another this week, they'll be playing when the vast majority of the league is on vacation. My two desires for my team in the near future are: 1) Heal up, and 2) kick butt. There is no reason why, with a couple weeks of rest, this team cannot recapture the spark and fire they had coming out of the gate at the beginning of the season. In fact, there's my new years wish for everyone here. I wish that this time next year, we're the defending superbowl champs.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

Well, lemme see.

Lost job of last decade, and hoped to return to same. Really wanted to go back, as 1) I think I was pretty good at it, 2) Was getting paid fairly well considering the area ($20+/hr and that's w/o a degree), and 3) I really enjoyed some of the friendships I had cultivated over the years. Unemployment. $374/wk.

Had massive heart attack. Flatlined twice on the way to the hospital. Have had two surgeries to put stents in my heart. Am on so many meds now I'm worried about my liver. (Ask Dadsdream, I'm sure he can relate.) Not able to work, so forget unemployment. Disability. $170/wk.

Unemployment now says that they overpaid me by $300, because of the heart attack. Closed claim.

Former employer, the one to which I was hoping to return announced they were closing their doors. When I got there in '99, there were over 500 people there. Now they're all gone. Some to other jobs, certainly not better paying ones. Most have gone on to unemployment. This area is stagnant. Sure, unemployment is down, but the only jobs that have been created in this area (yours too, I'm sure) are part time minimum wage gigs.

Cashed in 401k. Paid off everything I owed to anyone. Including the chateau, so at least that's an expense off our backs. Unfortunately, the 401k counts as income for '09. Hopefully, I had them deduct enough to cover the taxes.

After better than 30 years of leaving the house to go and earn a living, now I'm stuck at home gathering animosity towards those I love the most. Cabin fever will do that I'm told. The realization of this has kept me from killing them so far, anyway.

My Saints were unstoppable for the first 14 weeks of the season, dominating every "superior" team along the way. They were only "superior" in the media hacks' minds. Yeah, they've lost two games in two weeks, but even if they drop another this week, they'll be playing when the vast majority of the league is on vacation. My two desires for my team in the near future are: 1) Heal up, and 2) kick butt. There is no reason why, with a couple weeks of rest, this team cannot recapture the spark and fire they had coming out of the gate at the beginning of the season. In fact, there's my new years wish for everyone here. I wish that this time next year, we're the defending superbowl champs.

wow
clearly you are a very strong and resilient person
i'm sure that will help you get to what you want to do
good luck

 

[andyb33]

2009 could've definitely been a little better.

The Bad:
-Best friend diagnosed with schizophrenia, completely changed, and is no longer in contact with anyone.
-Relationship ended with my girlfriend
-Notre Dame's season
-Didn't meet that many people or had much fun in my first semester of college.
-Sorta went through a stage of depression.

Good:
-Made good grades
-And of course, the Saints 13-2!

Come on 2010! Can't wait to start it off with a Super Bowl championship finally coming to New Orleans.